Cheshire's Oulton Park has become the latest track to join the
world's best circuits available to players of iRacing.com. The
online racing service is renowned as the most lifelike there is,
and users can compete against players across the globe.

Such accuracy demands an intensive modelling process to
virtualise the circuit and translate the challenge of lapping
north-west England's premier motorsport venue to the simulated
world. Despite the same team having created digital versions of
Brands Hatch, Zandvoort, Indianapolis and Suzuka, Oulton Park
presented an even bigger task.

"When it comes to building the track surface, we like to start
with a level, straight surface as a baseline," explained Kevin
Iannarelli, Associate Producer at iRacing.com. "However there's
almost no place at Oulton Park where the race track is level and
straight for any appreciable distance, and that extends to the
run-offs and gravel traps. That just gave us a chance to show how
good we are!"

As with any race
track iRacing builds, the process of creating a digital Oulton Park
began when a crew headed by award-winning photographer David
Moulthrop conducted a laser scan of the race track. Using a Leica
GeoMatic surveying laser that can rotate 360 degrees atop a 10 foot
tall tripod, the crew digitally recorded not just the turns and
straights but every seam, bump, crack and gouge in the Oulton Park
pavement.

The attention to detail extends beyond the track itself, as
Moulthrop captured virtually every nook and cranny of the
facility. The pit buildings, advertising billboards,
spectator bridges and enclosures were documented in over 5,000
photographs, which also incorporated the facility's truly unique
features, including the former Egerton Estate's entrance gates,
lodges and the monument, honouring John Francis Egerton of the
Bengal Horse Regiment.

The team spent eight months creating the
virtual rendition of Oulton Park, which includes the most
configurations of any track iRacing have created. Greg Hill, Vice
President of Art and Production explains: "iRacing members
requested that we include all of them in the build, including
Knickerbrook without the chicane," he said. "That's one of the most
enjoyable elements of motorsports simulation - you can include some
of the really high speed sections that may not be used much in real
life because, of course, with simulated racing the element of
danger is removed."

iRacing's Director of Partner Relations is no stranger to the
world of racing. Divina Galicia is one of a very exclusive group of
female F1 drivers, having switched sporting disciplines from
Olympic Skiing in the 1970s. "When we originally made our
agreement, we had the choice of two of MSV's tracks including
Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Cadwell Park and Bedford
Autodrome," she explained. "Brands Hatch used to host the
British Grand Prix, of course, so that was an obvious choice and,
while Oulton Park is a very challenging track, very technical, it
has such a rich history of its own. Really it's on par with
Brands and Silverstone from a historical sense. Plus I have a lot
of personal connections with Oulton - my first race ever was a
celebrity race there in 1974. So it's fair to say Oulton Park
changed my life dramatically!"

All you need to drive the virtual Oulton Park is a PC
and a subscription to iRacing. To find out more, click here.